politics: Last News

Jewel has addressed the backlash to her appearance at an event for Donald Trump’s inauguration, saying she wants to be a “ray of light in this world”.The singer played a surprise set at the Make America Healthy Again Ball on January 20, which honoured Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the new president’s vaccine sceptic pick to lead the Department of Health.Jewel played ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ at the event, leading some fans to question whether her involvement represented an endorsement of Trump.In a video posted to Instagram, Jewel explained that she viewed her appearance as a chance to highlight the country’s mental health crisis.“As many of you know, I am a mental health advocate,” she said. “If there’s anything that I’ve learned in the past 20 years, it’s that mental health affects everybody’s lives across party lines.

Paul McCartney has criticised proposed changes to copyright law, saying if it goes ahead it will allow AI to rip off artists and result in a “loss of creativity”.The UK government is currently considering altering the copyright law to allow AI developers use of creators’ content on the internet if they are data or text mining to help develop their models.The proposals would give artists or creators a “rights reservation” to opt out, but has been criticised by many who believe it would be impossible for an individual to notify thousands of different AI service providers, or to monitor what has happened to their work across the entire internet.Now, the former Beatle has spoken out against the proposed changes, saying they could remove the monetary incentive for artists to create work and cause a “loss of creativity”.“When we were kids in Liverpool, we found a job that we loved, but it also paid the bills,” he said during an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. “You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it, and they don’t have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.”“The truth is, the money’s going somewhere… Somebody’s getting paid, so why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote Yesterday?”He went on to urge the government to reconsider the changes, saying: “We’re the people, you’re the government! You’re supposed to protect us.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s ball honoring Donald Trump’s inauguration, explaining that her commitment to addressing the nation’s mental health crisis transcends political divides.The 50-year-old singer-songwriter took to Instagram on Friday to share a video defending her performance at RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” ball (aka MAHA), which took place in Washington, D.C., days earlier, while also apologizing to her “longtime fans” because she “caused pain.”At the event, Jewel sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for RFK Jr., 71, a vocal vaccine skeptic selected by President Donald Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services.In her video, Jewel addressed her fans, apologizing to those who may have been disappointed by her actions.

Ground Control Touring, NOISE FOR NOW and Model/Actriz have spoken to NME about the third annual Abortion Access Benefit Series and the significance of community-based events following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.The boutique booking agency Ground Control have teamed up with NOSIE FOR NOW, a non-profit organisation that specialises in reproductive justice, for the third year of the Abortion Access Benefit Series – a music showcase designed to raise funds and awareness for reproductive rights.The events will take place on Saturday (January 25) in eight cities – Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Austin, Washington D.C. and Raliegh – featuring live music and festivities such as raffles in support of abortion funds, community, and bodily autonomy.

Spotify hosted a brunch one day before Donald Trump’s inauguration and donated $150,000 (£122,000) to the official ceremony.The music streaming service held the brunch to celebrate the “power of podcasts in this election”, inviting high-profile podcasters Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro and Tim Pool to the event, although Bloomberg reported that Rogan did not attend in the end.The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter also reported that the company donated the sum of $150,000 to the inauguration ceremony. In response to the report, Spotify claimed that “the donation aims to continue to expand our presence in Washington D.C.

Lucy Dacus has pledged $10k for trans surgeries after President Donald Trump declared that America will recognise only two sexes during his second inauguration.On Monday (January 20), Trump was sworn into office for his second term as President of the United States.

Grimes has clarified her stance on Elon Musk‘s controversial Nazi-like gestures at Donald Trump‘s Presidential inauguration – find out more below.Donald Trump was sworn into the White House for the second time on Monday (January 20). During the inauguration, tech billionaire and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk – who has been an integral part of Trump’s election win, and was appointed by the new POTUS to lead his new Department Of Government Efficiency – expressed his happiness over Trump re-entering the White House.

Green Day have taken a shot at Elon Musk during a recent concert in South Africa – check out footage of the performance below.On Sunday (January 19), Green Day performed their first show of the year at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. While performing ‘American Idiot’, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong swapped out a portion of the song’s lyrics to take a jab at X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla owner Elon Musk.Over the last year, Elon Musk – who is from Pretoria, South Africa – has been instrumental in Donald Trump‘s bid to return to the White House, championing him as the President of the United States.

Donald Trump has ruled that the United States of America will only recognise two sexes, male and female – see what celebrities have had to say about the policy below.Yesterday (January 20), Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States for a second time. During his inauguration speech, the President declared: “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”While it initially appeared that Trump had mixed up the terms “sex” and “gender”, his administration clarified that the President would sign an executive order that would recognise two sexes only – male and female – and declare that they cannot be changed and that federal employers would need to use the term sex, not gender.For reference, sex refers to biological characteristics of a human whereas gender refers to characteristics of male and female that are socially constructed.Since his declaration, a handful of celebrities have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the policy.

Kid Rock has said that Donald Trump personally phoned him ahead of a victory rally this week to inquire whether the Secret Service had banned him from having strippers in his performance.The ‘All Summer Long’ singer is one of the performers at the inauguration event in Washington D.C, ahead of the official swearing-in ceremony today (January 20).Prior to his performance, Kid Rock made a joke about being banned from using strippers on stage by the Secret Service and it turns out, the President-elect caught word.Speaking on Fox & Friends, the singer said: “Friday morning I got a call from the President and Melania and it was kind of mind-blowing, I’ve tried to leave him alone, he’s got a lot on his plate, I would think, right now.”He continued: “He called and he goes, ‘Did the Secret Service really tell you that you can’t use strippers?‘” To which he told the station he responded: “No, sir, I was just joking around.”“Ah, that’s funny,” Trump replied, according to Kid Rock.Kid Rock is a long-time supporter of Trump’s political career, dating back to his initial election victory in 2016.

Village People have taken to the stage with Donald Trump at the latter’s inauguration rally to perform ‘Y.M.C.A.’. Check out footage of the moment below.The band made their appearance as part of the line-up for the Republican party leader’s second inauguration at the US Capitol today (January 20).At the event, which also has Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus and Nelly on the bill, the American disco group took to the stage in the signature attire to perform a live rendition of ‘Y.M.C.A’.As they took to the stage, they shook the President-elect’s hand before heading over to their microphones and breaking out the famous choreography.

TikTok has been made available for US users again, just hours after it was shut down by a Supreme Court ruling.The social media platform ceased operating in the country on Saturday (January 18) after the court set a deadline for Sunday for the site to be sold to American owners or address the national security concerns identified by Congress.“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.

Nelly has defended his decision to play at Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration party, calling it “an honour”.The St. Louis rapper will be part of the line-up at the Republican’s second inauguration at the US Capitol on Monday (January 20), although the event has been moved indoors due to the expectation of dangerously cold weather.Other acts on the bill include Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Village People and Jason Aldean.Nelly has taken on any criticism of his inclusion at the event during a new interview with Geto Boys’ Willie D, where he argued that “the things you do” are more important than “the things you say should be done”.“I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices,” he continued. “If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument.

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe has encouraged people to boycott Facebook and Instagram over their role in “helping advance the far right in America”.The singer has called for people to log out from all platforms owned by Meta – which also includes Threads, Whatsapp, Messenger, Giphy, Metaquest and Rayban Meta – between January 19 and 26.“I’ll be logged off for the week,” he captioned his post. “Please consider doing the same so corporations like Meta can imagine there might be consequences for helping advance the far right in America and world wide.”“Or are we too addicted we can’t log off even for one week?” he added.A post shared by Michael Stipe (@michaelstipe)Stipe also commented that he feels the actions of Meta are “so gross”, adding: “I’m really happy to step away for a week as some form of protest – and then I’ll come back and decide what to do from there.”Meta rebranded to its current name in 2021 to “reflect its focus on building the metaverse”, having previously been the parent company of Facebook.

Saturday Night Live yesterday (January 18), Dave Chappelle addressed President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to govern with “empathy”.Last night’s stint marks the comedian’s fourth time hosting the show since 2016, notably his first appearance on an episode that didn’t air the same week as an election. Airing just two days before Trump’s inauguration, he addressed him directly in his monologue, as well as taking aim at Diddy and broaching the Los Angeles wildfires.“It’s a tough one, you know what I mean?” he said.

TikTok in the United States, with some describing it as a “dystopian” moment.The social media platform officially went dark in the country on Saturday (January 18) ahead of a Supreme Court deadline that had been set for Sunday.“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.

Roseanne Barr has made fun of Eminem and gloated about Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration in a new rap video – watch the clip below.The comedian and writer has been a longstanding supporter of Trump’s politics and has now appeared alongside the Canadian rapper and singer Tom MacDonald in a video titled ‘Daddy’s Home’.Barr sports box braids and gold chains in the two-minute video as she stands among a group of MAGA supporters and an abundance of American flags. “We won, you mad / It’s done, too bad / Boohoo, so sad / Now your daddy’s home,” raps MacDonald.Watch the video here:“Thank god that we’re back / Couldn’t take another four years, that’s a wrap / I can take a bath in your tears,” he continues.

Donald Trump has named Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight his “special ambassadors” of Hollywood.“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Thursday (January 16).“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!“These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”The president-elect’s comments about resurrecting Hollywood come at a trying time.

Ethel Cain over her “terrorist” and “depraved” comments about the murder of CEOs.Earlier this month, the musician shared her thoughts on the high-profile murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson after he was shot dead outside a Manhattan hotel in December. The killing led to a manhunt that lasted several days, with police eventually arresting Luigi Mangione, who was found carrying a three-page manifesto in which he criticised the American healthcare system.On January 10, Cain expressed similar frustration with the system and said that while she wasn’t being “reactionary”, violence was “sometimes” the answer.

TikTok is to be banned across the United States from this Sunday (January 19) if it is not sold, the Supreme Court has ruled.The future of the site was thrown into question when its parent company, ByteDance, lost an appeal against a US law seeking to ban it. ByteDance also said repeatedly that it was not willing to sell, although doing so would allow it to remain available in the country.Now, following the latest ruling by the Supreme Court, the White House has shared a statement saying that the social media platform will remain available to those living in the States.

selected Attorney General Ashley Moody to succeed U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, should Rubio be confirmed as Secretary of State.